NOVEMBER 2019 | MANE LIFE SCIENCES| 5
Innovation-friendly South Korea is getting a big push from the government to expand its presence in the world biotech market. Government policy loans and tax incentives encourage innovation, approval times are falling, and the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA) is investing in an AI drug development platform.
Mainland China’s pharmaceutical innovation is driven by the size of the population, the decline in state ownership of enterprises and the accompanying rise in lifestyle diseases, and government investment in healthcare and regulatory reviews.
However, China still relies heavily on generics and struggles with counterfeiting issues and stringent price regulation. In terms of percentage of GDP spent on healthcare, it lags behind other countries.
While Japan has the most drugs in active development (nearly 2,000), Mainland China (1,598) and South Korea (1,088) are surprisingly not far behind.
Company-level results
The top ten ranking of top-tier companies (those that have launched 10 or more products) was massively dominated by Japan, while Mainland China had only one company in the top 40:
1 Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd - Japan
2 Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd - Japan
3 Eisai Co Ltd - Japan
4 Astellas Pharma Inc - Japan
5 Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd - Japan
6 Shionogi & Co Ltd - Japan
7 CSL Ltd - Australia (a draw)
8 Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd - Japan
9 Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp - Japan
10 Kirin Holdings Co Ltd - Japan (another draw)
This list shows a clear link between innovation scores and revenue. All the companies in the upper quartile are among the top 50 companies by revenue worldwide.
Japan is getting a shot of AI research funding from a government keen to speed up R&D, and is promoting Japanese drugs worldwide. However, an economic slowdown, an ageing population and punitive pricing are leaving small Japanese companies struggling. The government has set a target date of 2020 for 80% generic substitution.